The members of the EU Parliament agreed today by overwhelming mayority new rules on taxing digital services and revenues of digital companies.<\/p>\n
The new rules widen the list of taxable services adding the supply of content via digital interfaces; the threshold of minimum taxable revenues within the EU is also lowered to \u20ac40 million, in comparison with the EU Commission’s proposal to place it at \u20ac50 million
\nThe European Parliament adopted both its two opinions on the proposals for Council directives on the corporate taxation of a significant digital presence and a Digital Services Tax (DST) by an overwhelming majority.<\/p>\n
The report on the digital services tax directive was adopted with 451 votes in favour, 69 against and 64 abstentions.
\nThe report on the corporate taxation of a significant digital presence directive was adopted with 439 votes in favour, 58 against and 81 abstentions<\/p>\n
The Parliament has a consultative role when it comes to taxation laws, (Art. 115 TFEU). Therefore, it will be up to the Council to decide by unanimity on the final content of the rules. The Parliament is pushing for an approval before the end of its mandate in April 2019.<\/p>\n
Lower threshold of taxable revenues earned within the EU<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n MEPs agreed to reduce the minimum threshold above which a company\u2019s revenues are liable to be taxed. The rules would apply to any entity generating revenues within the EU of more than EUR 40 000 000 during the relevant financial year. The European Commission had proposed that this should be EUR 50 000 000.<\/p>\n Digital Services Tax, ecognised as just a temporary solution<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n MEPs underlined that the DST is a temporary measure, while adopting the Significant Digital Presence, the Common Corporate Consolidated Tax Base or similar rules reached at the OECD or at UN level would be permanent solutions.<\/p>\n The rapporteur on the Digital Services Tax Paul Tang (S&D, NL) said: \u201c\u201cBoth the European Parliament and the European people want tech giants to pay their taxes. That is why we voted for a more ambitious digital service tax, also taxing revenues from online streaming services. We are talking about basic fairness, where everyone pays their fair share\u201d.<\/p>\n The rapporteur on the Significant Digital Presence Dariusz Rosati (EPP, PL) said: \u201cTaxes have to be paid where a company creates its value\u00a0 irrespective of if it is a digital or a traditional enterprise. The quarrels and mutual vetoes in the Council lead to the EU being unable to tackle this problem. The European Union should be a trendsetter, while also continuing to work on an international solution at OECD level. It is high time to act!\u00bb.<\/p>\n The background<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In March 2018, the European Commission presented two distinct legislative proposals on a fairer taxation of digital activities in the EU. The first proposal (Corporate taxation of a significant digital presence), presented as the preferred solution, aims to reform corporate tax rules, so that profits are registered and taxed where businesses interact with users through digital channels. The second proposal (Digital Services Tax) is an interim tax which covers the main digital activities that currently escape tax altogether in the EU.<\/p>\n In July 2013, EU ministers agreed on the need to establish a common corporate tax base. The European Commission then split its previous 2011 proposal into two directives: a directive establishing a common corporate tax base (CCTB), and a directive on a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). Both draft directives were tabled in October 2016 and are still awaiting Council\u2019s agreement. In its resolutions, the European Parliament strongly supported this major reform of corporate taxation and introduced the notion of \u201cdigital presence\u201d that would enable member states to tax digital companies.<\/p>\n Image over the headline.-<\/strong> The European Parliament. \u00a9 European Union 2018 – European Parliament<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The members of the EU Parliament agreed today by overwhelming mayority new rules on taxing digital services and revenues of digital companies. The new rules widen the list of taxable services adding the supply of content via digital interfaces; the threshold of minimum taxable revenues within the EU is also lowered to \u20ac40 million, in …<\/p>\n